Protecting the Witness
by LoveRainandSnow
Summary: When an explosion nearly kills Kaelyn Brooks, the NCIS team comes to her aid. Finding it was no accident, she is put into a safe house where Pride works to gain her trust. He then he finds out that she is sole witness to a murder and that they must find the evidence needed to bring a violent man to justice. Meanwhile, Pride is in danger of violating a cardinal rule of NCIS.
1. Prologue

**Protecting the Witness**

**Summary – **_When an explosion nearly kills Kaelyn Brooks, the NCIS team comes to her aid. Finding it was no accident, she is put into a safe house where Pride works to gain her trust. He then he finds out that she is sole witness to a murder and that they must find the evidence needed to bring a violent man to justice. Meanwhile, Pride is in danger of violating a cardinal rule of NCIS._

**Author Note** - I have not written fan fiction, or even fiction in absolute ages and I have forgotten how much I enjoy writing just for the fun of it. I decided to take down one story (Put to the Test) because as much as I like the idea of exploring the characters' relationships with an OC and developing them, I wasn't happy with how I had it set up. So forgive me for that until I figure out a better way to do that one. I like this idea because it gives me more room to play with certain concepts. Again this is multi-chapter, has all our favorite characters doing what they do best - solving crimes. I hope you enjoy!

**Prologue**

_Present Day_

_6:00 PM_

Kaelyn waved goodbye to Beth as she left the bookstore to go home and tend to her family, then closing and locking the front door, changing her sign from 'open' to 'closed.' She walked towards the center of the small store where the cash register was and picked up the few books she still needed to put away before she too, could go home for the night.

Fifteen minutes later she had just two books in her hand when a clinking sound against the backdoor of the bookstore shattered the early evening silence. She lost her grip on the books and they struck the hardwood floor with a thud.

She felt her heart pounding in her chest, adrenalin beginning to course through her veins. _Calm down…calm down,_ she said to herself repeatedly. _It's probably just a stray animal. Nothing to be afraid of…no one knows you live here in New Orleans…no one._

Kaelyn took several deep breaths, closing her eyes, focusing on relaxing her body and mind.

It had been a year since she witnessed the murder. One year since she saw that evil face who had killed an innocent human being. She had told authorities what she had seen, told them she was certain he had seen her, but no one appeared too concerned about her safety and for several days afterward she watched the news constantly on the television, checked the internet and papers for any news about the murderer. Nothing.

Kaelyn then decided to take matters into her own hands, and although most of her friends and family thought she was being overly dramatic, they didn't stop her from leaving Oregon to move to the other side of the country – New Orleans to be exact.

Still, after this time, she still jumped at every strange noise, constantly checking over her shoulder, always expecting that the day had come – the day he found her to kill her. Yet, it has been a year now; would he even bother? Would he rather not leave it alone, instead of rocking a boat that sat still in the water?

Kaelyn sighed as she picked up the dropped books. Constantly being on alert had sapped a great deal of her energy and soon, like a battery, there would be no more energy to keep going.

A louder noise just outside the back door sent the adrenalin reeling through her body once again, her hair on the back of her neck standing on end; this was no stray animal outside. She then heard the doorknob of the back door rattle briefly, then stopped.

She looked around the bookstore, looking for something she could use to defend herself; she moved back towards the counter where the register stood. _It's alright, don't panic, _she thought to herself. Kaelyn reached into her purse and pulled out her cell phone, just in case. She desperately wanted to call for help, but if it was a false alarm, she would have a great deal of explaining to do.

Suddenly, everything went dark – no lights. This was no coincidence, it couldn't be.

She stood, frozen in place, unable to move. _Had he finally found her? Decided to make his move?_

Her inner voice inside screamed, "Run!"

She couldn't move. Her muscles had seemingly locked into place. She waited. Silence.

After several minutes Kaelyn relaxed enough to enable her to move slowly towards the front door of the bookstore, her cell phone clutched tightly in her hand.

Normally, silence was something she enjoyed, craved. But not this time. There was something off about this all; she felt a chill go up her spine as she reached the front door, slowly and quietly unlocking the deadbolt lock as she looked outside the window.

She saw nothing suspicious, just people making their way up and down the street, heading home from work or perhaps out to dinner. It was now or never, she had to make a break for it.

Kaelyn wrenched open the front door of her store and ran outside, her mind focused only on one thing – safety. As a result she found herself crashing into a solid body as the sound of a boom filled the back alley.

Chaos ensued as people ran screaming away from the area. Kaelyn felt herself pushed downward, landing with a thump onto the street, the body of whoever she had run into, now laying on top of her in a protective manner. She wanted to scream, but nothing emerged from her throat.

Fire spread quickly through the small store as sirens could be heard racing towards the scene.

She heard a male voice shout. "What the hell was that?!"

Shattered glass lay everywhere as a thick smoke billowed from the remains of the building.

Kaelyn could feel tears stream down her face as the body lifted off from her and she found herself looking into the face of a man, in his fifties she estimated, his hazel eyes staring into her brown ones. "Are you alright?" He asked as she slowly sat up.

"I…I think so." Kaelyn replied, moving her arms and legs.

The man stood up first, then held out his hand. Kaelyn reached for it and he pulled her up.

A young man and woman soon joined him, the young man whispering something in the older man's ear.

Pride looked at Chris and nodded before turning to Kaelyn and looking at her for several minutes. Her brown hair was a mess, bits and pieces of what looked like wood and glass pieces tangled in; her face had a few small nicks from flying glass and her clothes, a simple shirt and jeans, torn and dirtied from the street.

"You have some explaining to do." Pride said simply.

Kaelyn had so many feelings running through her at that moment. Anger over the killer destroying her business and life, sadness at the destruction he caused, seemingly unconcerned about anyone getting caught in the crossfire, fear, knowing that he knew her location.

Kaelyn's eyes widened and icy tendrils closed around her heart. He had a lot of nerve. "Me? I don't know you. Why do I have to explain anything to you?" She shouted. "What is it that you are accusing me of?"

Pride's face showed no emotion. His jaw was set and determination creased his forehead. "You're in serious trouble."

Kaelyn's face turned ashen. "I don't know what you mean…I don't know anything…"

Meredith knew the situation was rapidly getting out of hand without some explanation of their part. She moved towards Kaelyn and put her arm around the woman. "You're in shock and that is completely understandable." She said quietly. "But before you get the wrong idea, let me introduce who we are. My name is Meredith Brody."

"Christopher LaSalle." Chris said stepping closer to Meredith. "And this is our boss, friend and leader, Special Agent Dwayne Pride."

Kaelyn stared at the trio. "Special Agent?"

Meri smiled and nodded. "We're NCIS agents."

Kaelyn was speechless.

"Pride," Meri turned to the older man, "I think we need to have medics take a look at her before anything else."

Dwayne looked around at the scene. Emergency personnel had arrived, the fire department had almost put out the fire and local law enforcement had placed crime scene tape around what was left of the building; in fact most of the block had been cordoned off. He glanced at LaSalle knowing he had quickly taken charge of that before any evidence, should any have survived the blast, be destroyed.

He then turned back to Meredith and Kaelyn. "You're right, Brody." He acknowledged, then turning to Kaelyn. "I'm sorry if I sounded like I was accusing you of something. I wasn't. But you are in serious trouble."

TBC


	2. First Steps

**Chapter 1 – First Steps**

_Several hours after the explosion  
><em>

Kaelyn slowly walked out of the exam room of Tulane Medical Center and walked down the hallway, towards the exit. Brody, who had gone with her in an ambulance promised to wait in the waiting area, located directly to the left of the exit.

She saw Brody sitting there and walked towards her, biting her bottom lip nervously, uncertain as to what to say to the woman agent. "Agent Brody…"

Meri looked up and smiled, tossing the magazine she had been reading aside. "Kaelyn, what did the doctor say?" She inquired, rising to her feet.

"He said aside from a few bumps, bruises and minor scratches on my face, I will be just fine." She replied. "He gave me some antibiotic cream for the scratches."

"I am so glad to hear that, Kaelyn."

"Thank you, Agent Brody."

Meredith looked at the woman standing before her. Her clothes were torn and dirty, her face, now that the doctor had cleaned it, had numerous superficial cuts on her cheeks, forehead and chin from the flying broken glass and the thin lines of blood, underneath the fluorescent lighting, glared out at Meredith. It looked much worse than it was, and she had no doubt that Kaelyn would recover from her minor injuries physically, but emotionally, that was a whole other matter.

And she was about to make things worse.

While Kaelyn was in the examination room, Pride had called and informed her that any doubt the explosion could have been accidental had been removed; it was deliberate and the suspect hadn't taken great pains to hide the fact. He then told her that Kaelyn was to be moved to a safe house and that he and LaSalle were already there. Pride then sent her directions to said house. A final instruction from her boss was not to let Kaelyn know just yet.

"Kaelyn, are you ready to go?"

Kaelyn was exhausted and sore and just wanted to slip into a hot bath before crawling under the covers in bed. "I don't live far from…" She paused briefly as she felt her heart constrict in her chest at the thought of her lost store, of the extensive damage to the area. "Did…did anyone…"

Meri shook her head as they walked towards her SUV. "Fortunately, there were no deaths. Just minor injuries like yours."

She breathed a sigh of relief. There was that at least.

The two women climbed into the vehicle and buckled their seat belts as Brody started the engine.

Kaelyn was exhausted and sore; she knew that these agents were not done with her, she was not naïve enough to think they would take her word on the matter and let it go. She hoped they would at least leave it until she had a chance to rest though. _What should I tell them when they ask me questions? Can I have a lawyer present?_ She wondered. The trio seemed nice enough, but they were still strangers. _What if I do tell them my story and they don't believe me like the others a year ago?_ No, she couldn't trust them…

The rhythm of the vehicle, the soft comfortable leather seat, the quiet all had their effect on Kaelyn as she felt her body begin to relax and her eyes get heavier and heavier. She fought the urge to sleep, but within ten minutes of leaving the hospital, she had lost the battle.

Brody could see out of the corner of her eye that her charge had fallen asleep. It would make it easier to bring her to the safe house at least, but once they arrived then what? Pride had asked her not to say a word to Kaelyn out of fear she would run away from them – and not knowing a thing about her such as whether she had money or a car somewhere, well, he was right. If she did leave their protection, she was as good as dead.

She agreed that it was better to have a witness alive and angry than one that was simply dead. _I hope Kaelyn can come to see that what we're doing is for the best._ Meri didn't envy Pride having to the task of gaining her trust though.

She continued to drive in a southwest direction, now out of the city of New Orleans, heading towards Lake Catouatchie, about fifteen miles away from the city. As she approached the lake she slowed the SUV, scanning the wooded and darkened area for a dirt road, which LaSalle had instructed, to turn left on. The safe house was a mile further up, near the eastern side of the lake.

After several minutes of searching, Brody found the access to the dirt road and turned onto it. Hearing a soft groan, she glanced at her passenger; she was beginning to stir, no doubt feeling the bumps of the road.

* * *

><p>LaSalle replaced his cell phone back in his pants pocket and left the bedroom after a final security check. It was just after midnight and Brody had informed him she was on the way to the safe house; he acknowledged her and went in search of Pride.<p>

The house itself was quite small, somewhat less than one thousand square feet. It was a single level, with one bedroom and bathroom towards the rear, a small kitchen with dining area and living room towards the front. There were two doors, a front and back door, and hardwood floor throughout.

The alarm system was wireless and consisted of entry sensors at each door and window, motion sensors within the home and a panic button located inside the bedroom closet. It had been set to silent, and should Kaelyn ever need help, all she had to do was push the button for help, without alerting an intruder. Pride had one of the keyless entries and he had instructed LaSalle to give the other to Meri, hoping the presence of another woman might help the situation.

After seeing that Pride was not inside, LaSalle opened the front door and out onto the enclosed front porch. He found him standing there, staring out into the night, shuddering briefly, feeling the chill in the night air. It was clear out, the stars above twinkling down, creating what to Chris looked like small holes in the inky black night sky. It was also unusually quiet, not even the sound of crickets.

He approached and came to stand next to his boss. "They're almost here, King."

The older agent remained silent, giving his head a slight nod.

"She hasn't told Kaelyn that she needs to stay here, as you instructed but what do we do when they arrive? She is going to be very angry at being deceived."

"I'm aware of that Chris, and I'll figure a way to deal with it." Pride assured him. "We didn't have much choice, if we just let her go, she would have made a run for it and you and I both know what the outcome would be."

"King, what do you think Kaelyn is involved in?" Chris asked softly. "That explosion…whoever is behind it sure wants her dead and doesn't care about collateral damage."

Pride nodded as he looked at Chris. "We were very lucky no one was seriously hurt or even killed." He agreed. "We are also lucky that whoever did this, didn't hide the fact this was no accident because it saves us a little time."

"Yeah, but it's obvious whoever it is won't stop until the job is done."

Dwayne's brow furrowed in concern. "I agree, Chris, so that makes it vital we get her trust so she'll open up to us. Without that things are going to be a lot harder…"

The sound of a vehicle's tires, slowing crunching up the gravel road stopped any further conversation, at least for the moment. "She's here, Chris, let's go."

* * *

><p>To Brody's relief, the house quickly came into sight and she slowed the vehicle, coming to a complete stop, parking next to LaSalle's car. She shut off the engine and unbuckled her seat belt, watching Chris and Dwayne emerging from the enclosed porch to join her.<p>

Kaelyn, although sleeping for the duration of the ride had opened her eyes, blinking several times to gain focus back in her eyes and get her bearings. Why had they stopped?

After a year living on constant high alert, her body and mind, no matter how exhausted never failed to warn her of dangers. As she began to get a clearer picture of things, she knew she was not home, not anywhere near it. She could see outlines of trees outside her passenger side window, and through the front windshield she noticed a small house, a light shining through one of the windows.

_What am I doing here?_ She asked herself. Panic began to set in. _Was Meredith Brody a real agent? _She noticed two figures walking towards the vehicle.

"Where am I?" She demanded of Meredith. "What is going on…?"

The agent turned towards Kaelyn. "It's alright, let us explain…"

"Explain what? I want to go home, take me home."

Meredith watched as the passenger side door opened, causing Kaelyn to shrink away and into her seat. At least until she saw the face. "You…"

"Come out of the car and inside the house where I can explain." Pride interrupted.

Kaelyn didn't move a muscle. "What do you want from me? I don't know anything."

To the trio who had investigated crimes for several years, the denial was no surprise, but it rang hollow.

"You obviously know something, otherwise the majority of a city block wouldn't have been blown up." Pride retorted.

"Come on, Kaelyn." Brody urged softly. "We're not going to hurt you but our experience tells us that something very dangerous is going on and that you're in the middle of it."

Kaelyn looked around her, seeing nothing in the darkness, no road, no other lights, nothing. She cursed under her breath. For the last year she had been trapped into a box by a killer only she could identify, and with the explosion today and meeting these three agents, she found herself in a different box. She wasn't sure at that moment, which was worse.

"Listen, there is no where you can run to." Pride said. "There is nothing around here for miles."

"Except maybe for some alligators and snakes." LaSalle broke in.

"Chris." Pride warned, hearing the impatience in his tone.

"My apologies, boss." He replied. "My apologies, miss."

Kaelyn couldn't see LaSalle very well as he was standing behind Pride, but she acknowledged his apology. "It's alright, Agent." She sighed, realizing that for that night at least, they had won. It would be sheer stupidity to try and leave in the middle of the night, stumbling around.

"I don't have my clothes…"

"I will get some things for you tomorrow from your place," Meredith promised, "but for tonight, seeing as you are very similar in build to me, I am lending you some of my clothes. Nothing fancy, a few shirts and some sweats…"

Kaelyn nodded as Pride held out his hand. "A good night's rest will do you a world of good." He said kindly as she took his hand, finally easing her stiff body out of the SUV. "I suspect it's been awhile since you had one of those."

His hand was warm, his grasp firm as his fingers wrapped over her own, a feeling of pleasure coming over her. It had been a long time since she had any physical contact with another, even one this brief.

TBC


End file.
